1. Field of invention
The present invention relates to a method and a system for selecting and transmitting an optimum route, and particularly a method and a system for selecting and transmitting an optimum route which bypasses a line of the minimum toll on the basis of telephone call toll data.
2. Description of the Related Art
In recent years, a rate of dependence upon an optimum route selection LCR (Least Cost Routing)ARS (Automatic Route Selection)!/AAR (Automatic Alternate Routing) service by a private electronic exchange network and a private communication line provider in a station line transmission and a trunk line transmission has been increased with a development of communication network and an increase of communication quantity and communication cost and so on.
An accurate LCR/AAR route selection unit has been demanded for reducing more expenses as the rate of dependence upon the services is increased.
A selection unit for selecting an automatic route/bypass and a station line transmission unit for executing a transmission on the basis of the selection are provided with the LCR/AAR route selection unit.
In a private network of an electronic exchange provided with the above-mentioned LCR/AAR route selection unit, a selective transmission has been executed in order that the line was defined like the next second line, the third line and so on, when a use order of an available line of a corresponding destination, for instance, the first line could not be used since the line was busy.
On the other hand, in an enterprise using a private network of the above-mentioned electronic exchange, a selection of a line on the basis of a correct telephone call toll data for each route/line in each position of exchange installation and an update of the telephone call toll on the basis of the latest telephone call toll data in each position have been demanded.
Besides, it has been demanded that the toll is compared in a line used by a user of the exchange and the available line, and a line to be subscribed newly and a line to be cancelled are determined correctly, as the communication network used by the user is diversified.
Further, it also has been demanded that a frame of the line which can be selected is reduced and a quality of telephone call is improved according to a degree of demand of quality for the line of a transmitter, when a difference exists in the quality of the line to be selected.
In a private network using the LCR (ARS/AAR) transmission unit, a bypass unit for comparing the toll on the basis of the telephone line toll data when each position is regarded as a transmission position for the destination to be transmitted, and bypassing the position within the private network which will be the minimum toll also has been demanded due to the above-mentioned circumstances.
Besides, it also has been demanded that the bypass unit is provided with a storage unit for storing a telephone call data of local station so as to maintain the telephone call toll data of the local station and an inquiry unit for inquiring the telephone call toll through a data line for each position so as to select an optimum line for every transmission.
Further, it also has been demanded that the bypass unit is provided with means which is capable of transmitting and receiving the telephone call toll data within the local station through the data line in an arbitrary transmitting position, and updating the latest data anytime, when the telephone call toll data is provided for every transmitting position.
Moreover, it also has been demanded that the bypass unit is provided with a comparison unit for comparing the telephone call toll similarly for all of the available lines every time the transmission is executed so as to determine the line to be subscribed newly and the line to be canecelled correctly.
This has been demanded for making it possible to sum up the telephone call toll in a short period of time, for instance, by summing up the virtual telephone call toll for the line which is supposed to be the minimum telephone call toll if it is subscribed when the transmission is executed from the existing line, with the telephone call toll according to the existing line corresponding to the telephone call.
On the other hand, also in a common household telephone, the telephone call toll can be compared and it will be possible to execute a line subscription contract for reducing the telephone use toll, if the household telephone is capable of calculating a virtual telephone call toll.
Further, to put it more concretely, the 93342 number Official Report of Patent Disclosure in 1991 exists as an example of a system to which the route selection process described hereinbefore is adopted. The 290093 number Official Report of Patent Disclosure in 1987 exists as an example of a system for selecting an arbitrary relay network from a public telephone to talk over the telephone. Besides, the 136596 number Official Report of Patent Disclosure in 1991 exists as an example of a method for selecting an optimum telephone call toll line.
In the system disclosed in the 93342 number Official Report of Patent Disclosure in 1991, it is judged whether or not a subscriber number provided for every subscriber conforms with a dialed number.
A public network subscriber number is converted into a private network subscriber number, when the subscriber number conforms with the dialed number.
At this moment, a telephone call in which a private exchange subscriber number is transmitted to a private exchange to bypass the private exchange can be executed, since a line of a trunk line is acquired.
On the other hand, a nonnumerical dial figure is transmitted to the public network after acquiring the line of the relay line, when the subscriber number does not conform with the dialed number. At this moment, the telephone call bypassing the public network is executed.
For this reason, in the system disclosed in the 93342 number Official Report of Patent Disclosure in 1991, it is possible to provide a route selection processing system in a communication system in which both of the public network and the private network can be used by judging whether or not the subscriber number conforms with the dialed number.
Besides, a database in which toll data according to route of a telecommunications undertaker connected to the private exchange network is stored is provided for the system disclosed in the 136596 number Official Report of Patent Disclosure in 1991.
Each of the exchanges is capable of inquiring of the database about a telephone number of the telecommunications undertaker whose telephone call toll will be the lowest, acquiring the most inexpensive telecommunications undertaker number from the database and adding the number to the dial number to execute a transmission, for instance, when the transmission is executed outside of the private exchange network.
Namely, in the system, a demand for retrieving the telecommunications undertaker number of the minimum telephone call toll transmitted from the exchange is received with the data of the dial number through a communication control unit.
At this moment, in the control unit within the exchange, the telephone call toll data according to route of each undertaker concerning a transmission area is retrieved from a memory table in which a transmitter number of a receiving data is set as a key for every transmission area.
However, in the conventional system described hereinbefore, the problems listed hereinafter could not be solved.
(1) Time and cost mount up to a large sum.
Namely, a correct comparison based on the telephone call toll data concerning the available lines was not always executed from each position within the private network, even if the data concerning the selection order of the above-mentioned lines was inputted, when a public line transmission through a private line was allowed, and the comparison was often executed in accordance with an exchange user's subjective and improper judgment.
(2) Communication cost exceeds the minimum communication cost which is realizable essentially.
For instance, when the data concerning the line and selection order are prepared reflecting the latest telephone call toll data, it will take a lot of time and cost to prepare these data.
Further, in the related art, the data for judging the lines to be subscribed and the lines to be cancelled were not stored previously in storage means, and means which makes it possible to sum up securely the data for reducing the communication cost according to line by using a traffic information of the exchange itself and network maintenance and an accounting information did not exist.
Accordingly, in the above-mentioned related art, there is the possibility that the communication cost exceeds the minimum communication cost which is realizable essentially, since the line selection is not executed on the basis of the data for judging the lines to be subscribed and the lines to be cancelled, the traffic information of the exchange itself and network maintenance, the accounting information and so on.
(3) It was impossible to update and sum up the latest telephone call toll data in a short period of time.
Besides, in the related art, it was impossible to update and use the telephone call toll data on the basis of the latest telephone call toll data in a short period of time.
(4) It is impossible to determine the subscription line in which the telephone call toll can be the lowest.
Further, in the related art, it was impossible to determine the subscription line in which the telephone call toll could be the lowest from the latest line use circumstances.